Ferrum plans to develop area

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FERRUM, Va. (AP) -- Ferrum College is seeking to attract more students to its rural campus by offering improvements, including a shopping center.

"We want to control how this develops. We don't want a strip mall," says Ferrum spokesman Dean Browell.

The goal of the initiative is to attract business and offer a more enticing environment to prospective students. Enrollment, which stands at 950, has plateaued in the past decade.

Ferrum College plans to move its farm museum across state Route 40 to make room for a shopping center that college officials hope will include a grocery story and doctor's office.

The college also is overseeing a two-year "Ferrum Plus" renovation program:

• Franklin Hall, the student center, is surrounded by scaffolding as it gets a new facade and is being expanded.

• Beckham Hall, one of the three original buildings on campus, has been renovated inside and out.

• Roberts Hall, another original building, is next in line.

In a field next to Ferrum's sports complex is the site of the college's newest dorm. The 50-student suite-style dorm, complete with kitchenettes, will open Jan. 20.

Another dorm is scheduled for construction in the next few years.